Pastore, 21, has made huge strides in Italy's Serie A this season, but claims he is not ready to move on until he is guaranteed a first-team place at one of Europe's elite. Asked whether he would rather leave Palermo for a club like Juventus or Barcelona, he replied with an answer that speaks volumes about his maturity.

"My priority is always to play and so I would say the first of the two options," he said. "I'd be on the bench a lot at teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this doesn't suit me.

"We'll maybe talk about it again when I am 28. Like I have already said, I count on staying here for a couple of other season.

"I believe that if the squad remains young and talented, we can aspire for important objectives. Let me explain myself with an example: at San Siro against Inter, our season was on the point of taking off. Instead we let Inter come back out of naivety and assorted errors.

"With the experience of this year, I believe that we will not make the same mistakes anymore."